OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce closed on a 6-0 run to erase a late deficit and beat South SF 51-48 on Sunday, June 15, improving to 8-4 in the 2025 summer season. Nick came off the bench to score 15 points, including the go-ahead basket and the final two free throws, as the Jayhawks won their second straight game.
Head-Royce hit from outside early. Idan opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and after South SF tied it at 3-3 on a second-chance 3, Tua and Jackson made back-to-back 3-pointers in a 6-0 run that put the Jayhawks ahead 9-3. Jackson added another 3 off a turnover for a 12-5 lead, the largest of the game for Head-Royce. South SF worked back within 16-15, and Idan answered with a 3 to make it 19-15.
South SF then got to the free throw line. Four straight free throws tied the game at 19, and after Jackson made two to put the Jayhawks back in front, South SF hit five in a row to take a 24-21 lead. The visitors stretched the margin to 28-23, their largest of the game, before Idan's third 3-pointer started the comeback. Idan made another 3 to pull within 32-31, and Nick's basket on a Tua assist gave Head-Royce a 33-32 lead.
The game swung back and forth from there, with five lead changes and six ties in all. Nick's second-chance 3 put the Jayhawks ahead 36-35, but South SF scored five straight points to lead 40-36. Nick scored and Jack added a second-chance basket to tie it at 40, and after Nick tied it again at 42, Jack hit a 3-pointer for a 45-42 lead. South SF answered with a 6-0 run, capped by a basket off a turnover, to go ahead 48-45. Idan cut it to 48-47 with a basket on a Tua assist, Nick scored to give Head-Royce a 49-48 lead, and Nick made both free throws to close the scoring at 51-48.
Nick shot 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line for his team-high 15 points. Idan added 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range with four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Jackson scored eight points on two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws, with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Tua ran the offense with five assists and five rebounds, and Jack had five points and a team-high seven rebounds, three of them offensive.
Head-Royce shot 36 percent (18-of-50) but made 9-of-24 from 3-point range and all six of its free throws. South SF shot 40.5 percent and went 15-of-18 at the line, and it turned the Jayhawks' seven turnovers into 10 points. Head-Royce made up the difference on the glass and in ball movement, winning the rebounding battle 27-22 with nine offensive rebounds and finishing with 13 assists to South SF's six. The Jayhawks' bench combined for 22 points.
Head-Royce is now 8-4 and has won two games in a row.